Introduction

We open by exploring the metacrisis and its cultural roots. You will delve into the transformative power of narratives and their role in shaping systems and actions in the world. We share the Culture Hack Labs approach to Narrative-Led Systems Change: Justice plus Onto-Shift, which emphasizes that demands for justice must be paired with a deeper shift in ontologies—the fundamental ways we perceive, relate to, and engage with the world.

Step 3: Understand

First you will analyse the Attention, Network and Power, as well as the Language of your Narrative Communities. You will then Map the Communities using Justice-Ontology axes to reveal key patterns and positions - building on the “Justice plus onto-shift” approach introduced in the Introduction. Finally, you will identify where the Window of Discourse sits and where we want to shift it. This is the foundation for your narrative intervention strategy.

Develop a Listening Model

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So let’s get specific and design our Listening Model!

The more specific you are, the more accurate the view you will obtain of the narrative landscape. You should be looking at the following parameters when building your Listening Model:

Demographics: Given your Point of View, what demographics can you use to refine your listening that will help you discover the significant narrative communities that will emerge from your data (e.g. political affiliation, age, gender, etc)
Themes: Given your Point of View, what are the themes you want to analyze in your narrative.
Platforms: In which places (physical or digital) will you carry out your search for information on this narrative? (Specify all the platforms on which you will carry out your search. If there are digital spaces you can consider Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. You can also search forums and news portals).
Date range: What time period does this span? (Choose a specific window – preferably in the present – about the narrative you are researching. The dates you choose can revolve around a significant event such as BLM or Fridays For Futures, an important political summit or social movement.)
Geography: In what countries, territories or languages are you performing your search? For example, if we want to explore a narrative related to the decriminalization of abortion in Latin America, you might focus on Argentina, Mexico and El Salvador.)

Below is an example Listening Model from the TOT example we introduced earlier.

Big Listening – use data analytical software to conduct media analysis using keywords (e.g. Community Land Trust; Transition Towns; Fearless cities; Municipalism, etc).
Small Listening – qualitative media analysis to corroborate or complement these findings.

NEXT STEP: Sorting your data into Narrative Communities

The Culture Hack Method

The Culture Hack Method

Introduction

Step 1: Ask

Step 2: Listen

Step 3: Understand

Develop a Listening Model